Bangladesh given 24 hours to decide on India travel for T20 World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has granted the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) one final day to consult with the Bangladesh government and decide whether its team will travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup, 24NewsHD TV reported on Wednesday. 

According to sources, the decision was taken during a crucial ICC Board meeting, where the majority of directors voted in favour of replacing Bangladesh with Scotland, based on team rankings, if the BCB maintains its refusal to play matches in India due to security concerns.

Bangladesh has instead proposed playing its World Cup fixtures in Sri Lanka.

According to sources, of the 15 directors present, only Pakistan supported Bangladesh’s position, while all other members backed the replacement plan.

The meeting was convened after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wrote to the ICC and fellow member boards on Tuesday, formally expressing support for Bangladesh’s stance.

The board meeting was attended by representatives of all Full Member nations, including ICC Chair Jay Shah, BCB President Aminul Islam, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, SLC President Shammi Silva, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Cricket Australia Chairman Mike Baird, Zimbabwe Cricket President Tavenga Mukuhlani, CWI President Kishore Shallow, Cricket Ireland Chair Brian MacNeice, Cricket New Zealand representative Roger Twose, ECB Chair Richard Thompson, CSA representative Mohammed Moosajee, and Cricket Afghanistan Chairman Mirwais Ashraf.

Also present were Associate Member directors Mubashshir Usmani and Mahinda Vallipuram, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta, Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja, and ICC General Manager Gaurav Saxena.

The ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) head Andrew Ephgrave, who visited Dhaka last week to hold in-person discussions with the BCB to address security concerns, also attended the meeting.

With the ICC now pressing for a final decision, Bangladesh faces mounting pressure to clarify its participation, as the global cricket body moves to ensure certainty in planning for the 2026 T20 World Cup.